BIRD-PROTECTION IN THE SCHOOLS 291 



couraged to plant seeds of annuals, such as hemp, 

 millet,, and sunflower. In Carrick, Pennsylvania, 

 a public-spirited man has been giving small mul- 

 berry and cherry trees to those children who would 

 agree to plant them and take care of them. Previous 

 to 1912, fifteen hundred trees had been given to 

 the children. 



Bird fountain in a school-yard. In some cases 

 it may be practicable to construct a bird fountain 

 in the school-yard. Such a fountain was built in 

 a yard in Worcester, Massachusetts. Connections 

 were made so that running water dripped into the 

 basin and a drain carried off the surplus water. Wild 

 flowers were planted in the crevices of the fountain 

 and at its base, and clumps of shrubbery were planted 

 near so that their fruit might furnish food for the 

 birds. The first year the fountain was visited by 

 twenty-five species of birds. Another similar foun- 

 tain was built at Passaic, New Jersey. 



Field trips. There is but one way to know the 

 birds; that is, to study them in the field. In the 

 schoolroom the children may be prepared for field 

 studies and may learn about the value of the birds 

 and how to protect them, but without a knowledge 

 of the birds themselves enthusiasm will be lacking. 



The ordinary class of thirty to forty children is too 

 large to attempt a field trip as a body, but fre- 

 quently some arrangement may be made with the 

 principal by which half of the class may be taken 



